Fall Fashion For Fellas – The Tweed Blazer

There was always something about your British Literature professor that you found… debonair. The female students in class would swoon about his accent as he was a true Brit. While other professor’s offices were drab and devoid of personality, his featured personal artifacts from his many travels and had the scent of leather bound books and whiskey. The thing that particularly caught your attention was the odd looking blazer he’d wear as he taught about Kipling and Austen. It’s not that you were new to jackets; you certainly got good use of the navy blazer your dad bought you for the end of the year team dinner, as well as the seersucker you wore to Oaks. This jacket however, was something more; informal yet sophisticated. You discovered this soft, brown, herringbone patterned coat was a material called tweed. On some days your professor would dress it up by pairing it with slacks and a knit tie. Other days, he’d exploit the jacket’s relaxed side with jeans, an oxford and a sharp pair of brogues. Once you got your own, you’d follow some of your professor’s worldly cues but would also add a touch of youth to your ensembles. You received several looks when you donned it with your lacrosse hoodie. The girls on Greek row whispered and smiled in your direction the day you wore it over a striped rugby. You got labeled “philosophical” when you added a crew neck (with an oxford collar peeking out the top) and pocket square to the mix. Now, as you sit on the steps of the library with a book of poetry under your arm you have no intention of reading, you’re considering taking up a tobacco pipe.

About Joey Wilkerson

Joey Wilkerson is a grad school student at the University of Louisville pursuing his Ph.D in College Student Personnel. He received his bachelor’s degree in English from UofL in 2006 and his master’s degree in communications from Bellarmine University in 2013. He also serves as a program coordinator in the school’s Cultural Center and the chapter advisor for the Alpha Chi chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon. When he isn’t on campus, he can be found annoying his wife by dominating the TV to play video games, getting in bidding wars on eBay for rare vinyl and getting his infant daughter Blair prepared for her eventual sorority recruitment week.